"Gempei War of 1180-1185: The Minamoto-Taira Conflict..." Topic
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Tango01 | 28 Jul 2015 12:38 p.m. PST |
… at the Dawn of the Age of the Samurai. "The Gempei War of 1180-1185 was one of the longest and hotly contested civil wars fought during the historical Heian period of Japanese history c.794 AD-1185. Pitting the "overmighty" clans of Minamoto (Genji), including the rival factions sworn to Yoritomo (b.1147-1199) and his cousin Kiso Yoshinaka (b.1154-1184), against the royal daimyo ruled by the mighty Taira (Heike) clan sworn to Emperor Takakura and later his infant son, emperor Antoku (b.1178-1185), the Gempei or Genpei War was fought throughout southern and western Japan. It is well remembered today in Japan for the gallant and often violent battles between the countries emerging samurai warrior-caste and for the wars' penultimate battle, the legendary Battle of Dan-no-aura which was fought in March of 1185. The emperors of Japan and their loyal Taira clan armies put down a series of attempted coups and open rebellions between 1051-1160 during the late Heian period. This era was defined by successive reigns of weak and ineffective emperors who did little to curb the political maneuverings and open revolts of the Minamoto clan led by Yoshitomo. The rival Taira clan were led before and at the very start of the Gempei War by the powerful and widely regarded samurai general and court prefect Kiyomori (b.1118-1181). It had been Kiyomori who put down the Hogen Disturbance in 1156, just one of the several Minamoto revolts against the "cloistered" emperor Go-Shirakawa (b.1127-1192). The most significant of these rebellions was the Heiji Revolt of January-February 1160. Hoping to snuff Taira dominance at court Yoshitomo of the Minamoto clan and Nobuyori of the influential Fujiwara clan attacked Sanjô Palace in Kyoto, taking the current emperor Nijô and his father the "cloistered emperor" Go-Shirakawa hostage with a force of around 500 samurai. The rebel Minamoto host stormed the palace slaughtering the emperors' retainers and royal attendants and then set the palace ablaze. Their success was short lived however when a force of 3000 Tara cavalry attacked the burning palace, scattering the Minamoto and retaking custody of the errant emperors Nijô and Shirakawa. Yoshitomo fled only to be betrayed days later by a retainer and murdered unarmed-a great dishonor. His two eldest sons Yoshihira and Tomonaga had been slain in their father's failed rebellion but his surviving sons were all spared and then exiled by Kiyomori…"
Full text here link Amicalement Armand |
Zargon | 28 Jul 2015 3:14 p.m. PST |
Favourite period in Samurai history. Cheers thanks Armand |
Tgerritsen | 28 Jul 2015 9:31 p.m. PST |
Agreed, I've always found this period more fascinating than the later era. |
Johny Boy | 29 Jul 2015 3:40 a.m. PST |
If the Perries read this, couldnt Knock out a few packs of Samurai and retainers in early armour could you?….go on you know deep down you really want to :-) |
Tango01 | 29 Jul 2015 10:58 a.m. PST |
Glad you enjoyed it boys!. (smile) Amicalement Armand |
Mike O | 29 Jul 2015 3:32 p.m. PST |
The classic "heroic" age of Japanese warfare celebrated in the semi-legendary war chronicles such as the Heike Monogatari. Then over the next 200 years we have the Mongol Invasions and long Nanboku-chō war. Frankly I personally find Japanese warfare after 1400 dull and overrated in wargaming terms by comparison. There's certainly no specific set of rules for the early samurai period but loads for the sengoku-jidai (which sometimes tack on a half-hearted supplement for earlier periods) although there are generic ones that capture some of the flavour. Probably why I spend more time playing and modding the Shogun 2 "Rise of the Samurai" DLC rather than gaming and painting samurai miniatures these days (apart from the lack of decent 28mm figures for this period too). |
goragrad | 30 Jul 2015 12:09 a.m. PST |
Never really liked Yoritomo. While the stories are focused on Yoshitsune and therefore naturally portray Yoritomo in a less favorable light, he still buried the Taira children alive. |
Tango01 | 30 Jul 2015 11:52 a.m. PST |
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Lion in the Stars | 30 Jul 2015 6:55 p.m. PST |
Considering how elaborate the O-Yoroi armor is, it's a shame that nobody makes 28mm minis wearing it! Even in 15mm, I think there are only a couple companies that make O-Yoroi armored samurai… |
Royston Papworth | 01 Aug 2015 3:39 a.m. PST |
This book is supposedly set in the period, has anyone read it? If so, any good? link |
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